THE WARRIOR/ Patty Smyth

HANDS TIED

Writers: Holly Knight/ Mike Chapman

Darling, darling, darling,
I`ll never understand
how sometimes just the way you look at me
Can tear up my heart
but then again
Darling, darling, darling
Don`t look across the room
Cos you might just catch me looking at you
Should we know what to say
Or what to do
So hold on don`t turn away
There must be a hundred things
We forgot to say

How can we touch
With our hands tied
When only you know how much
You keep me satisfied
How can we explain
This ball of flame locked up inside
With our hands tied

Darling, darling, darling
If you think this love is blind
Just remember
Each time you squeeze her hand you crush my heart
Oh and you just could be driving me out of my mind
Darling, darling, darling
I`ll never let it show
But as long as you go on leaving me
I fall apart each time you go
So hold on
Don`t take my heart away
She may be one good reason to leave
but I’m a hundred reasons to stay

How can we touch
With our hands tied
When only you know how much
You keep me satisfied
How can we explain
This ball of flame locked up inside
With our hands tied

‘Mike Chapman had produced the #1 hit, Hot Child In The City for a Canadian male singer with a voice that sounded like a woman’s. His name was Nick Gilder and I loved his voice. Mike introduced us and suggested we try to write something for Patty Smyth, a singer he was about to produce. Nick is a great singer himself and he hated the thought of giving The Warrior to another artist because he thought he could have a much needed followup hit with it. But we reasoned with him because we had intended from the beginning to give it to Patty. In the end I think he was thrilled that it became a hit for her.

The name of Patty’s band was Scandal and the label changed the name to ‘Scandal featuring Patty Smyth’. Then she went solo and became known just as Patty Smyth. The video for The Warrior was silly, and I couldn’t understand what happened because Patty was much cooler than that. I think it was a case of the label having their heads up their asses (a reoccurring ‘theme’), and not letting her be herself. It should’ve been a live video of her without the warpaint. As a result, I don’t think that helped her career, even though the song was massive. I thought Hands Tied was a hit song as well, and I could never understand why her label didn’t give it the proper push it deserved. In my opinion they screwed up, Patty Smyth should’ve been a huge star, she’s an awesome singer.’

An interesting bit of ‘trivia’ and a case of Kevin Bacon’s six degree’s of separation – I found out years later that in the previous year, Patty had sung the backing vocals on Change, another tune I wrote for my band Spider, which later was covered by vocalist, John Waite. It was produced by Neil Geraldo, Pat Benatar’sguitarist and husband.